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Andre Gomes: Is The Portuguese Under The Burden of Price Tag?

By Nikhil Kulkarni

BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 07: Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (l) of Atletico de Madrid fights for the ball with Andre Filipe Tavares Gomes of FC Barcelona during their Copa del Rey 2016-17 Semi-final match between FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid at the Camp Nou on 07 February 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 07: Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (l) of Atletico de Madrid fights for the ball with Andre Filipe Tavares Gomes of FC Barcelona during their Copa del Rey 2016-17 Semi-final match between FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid at the Camp Nou on 07 February 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Andre Gomes, a star performer for Valencia in last season has been under-performing since he joined the Catalans this summer. The attacking midfielder who was on the radar of many clubs is having a difficult life at Barcelona.

Barcelona splashed a large amount of cash last summer when they went all the way for reinforcing the team with youth and talent. Considering the fact that their golden generation is now getting older Barca thought to mix it up with youth blend. Barca’s game plan has always been around the midfield trio of Iniesta, Busquets, and Xavi. However, with the departure of the legendary Xavi in 2015, Barcelona has been constantly in hunt of the midfielder of that caliber. They needed depth in the squad to perform well on all fronts and were active all summer. In comes Andre Gomes.

Out of all the signings, when Barca decided to go for Gomes it raised many eyebrows. Andre Gomes, a Portuguese international, attracted interest from many clubs. This was becuase of his fine display in La Liga 15-16 season. A player who started his career at Benfica joined Valencia first on a season loan and then permanently. His standout performances for Valencia earned him place in Portugal squad for Euro 2016. He was part of the Portugal National team who won Euro in France.

All this led Barca and Real Madrid to have an interest in this young talented midfielder. His technical abilities to dribble past no of players and passing skills to cut the defensive lines were key when Barca decided to go after him. Barca splashed a huge amount of €35 million, plus €20 million in add-ons for this young lad as they beat their classico rivals to sign him until June 2020.

As swift has been his journey before, Gomes has found it highly difficult to adjust to the life in Camp Nou. No doubt, he possesses high skill sets be it defensively or offensively. He has proved his worth before on big occasions. But the way Barcelona plays, it is never easy for anyone to get into the team and play fluently straightaway. Barcelona and specially Lucho showed immense faith in the talented youngster giving him nod ahead of Rakitic in some games.

Given the fact, he has played 35 games out of which he started 22 clearly shows Barca was keen on him to perform well. But as the season progressed he has been more of an average player to make matters worse for Catalans. After numerous chances, he has failed to impress anyone at Camp Nou and has been a shadow of his own. The young midfielder has not been able to replicate his fine form of last season and is yet to open his account of goals for Barcelona.

After the game against PSG in 1st leg Gomes was on the radar of many fans as statistics proved that he was worst in that game. The hefty price tag with which Gomes came to Barca has been proving a nightmare for him. Given the huge amount paid, everyone is expecting him to perform well from the start. That might be playing on the mind of the youngster. He looked insecure in recent games and there is growing voice that he should leave at the end of the season. Gomes is not the 1st one to under-perform in debut season given the likes of Suarez who also took his time to adjust at Camp Nou. But the under-performing midfield has been the reason, Gomes has been marked out by no of fans.

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The gifted midfielder has been found vulnerable many times when pressed by oppositions and always looked clueless in crunch situations. Gomes has played almost in every position in midfield which clears the doubt that he never got a chance to adjust in particular position. Sometimes he looked lazy to tackle in crucial positions and that’s what cost you while playing for big teams. Amidst all this, no one can deny the fact that he is still young and going through learning. But there are very few players who actually adjust to Barcelona style of play.

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The end of the season might end his stay at Camp Nou. However, given the way Barca trusts on players, he might get another year to prove his worth. For this season, Gomes has been one of the worst players till now and he needs to turn this around for longer stay at Barca. His talent is undeniable and considering his young age, Barca will take their chances. Whatever happens at the end of the season, Gomes should mark his presence for his own confidence and the faith shown by the team. He still has a chance to step up and need to take it with both hands if he wishes to be at Camp Nou for long.